Pre-kids, I had visions of perfectly prepared, kid-friendly meals, loaded with fruits and veggies, with kids joyfully devouring every vitamin-packed morsel.
Six years and three kids later, meal time is easily one of my most dreaded times of the day, and most days it feels constant – breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack while I’m making dinner, dinner, snack because dinner wasn’t eaten, snack, snack, KITCHEN IS CLOSED!
I’ve tried to make peace with this phase of my life. I stock the pantry and fridge with healthy options and ditched my plans for perfect meals. I don’t want our meals to be a wrestling match that end in tears, so I started doing something different to put the joy back in meal time and help cut down on the endless snacking because, “I’m so hungry.”
The solution?
The Rainbow Tray!
This is easily my favorite way to feed my kids and we do it multiple times per week. My only rule is that you eat something from each color. I load the tray up with their faves, but then try to sneak in some new flavors.
Haven’t had luck with a cooked veggie? Try it raw. My kids love raw orange bell peppers – now, don’t try to give them a yellow, red, or green one, but the fact that they will eat orange bell peppers is considered a win in my book.
Haven’t had luck with something steamed? Try it roasted. Roasted cauliflower is an easy crowd-pleaser at our house. Crank your oven up to 400 degrees, toss cauliflower florets with a little extra virgin olive oil, and pop them in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Another roasted favorite with my kids are green beans. Green beans are pretty starchy, so they hold up well to roasting – I even call them green french fries because that’s just the kind of mom I am.
In addition to loading your tray with fruits and veggies, you can add lots of healthy, lean protein options too – hard-boiled eggs, string cheese, uncured meats and rotisserie chicken are a great way to bump up the protein content in your tray.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a cheat sheet to make building your tray easy and stress free.
Love this idea! Mine will only eat the green bell peppers and only raw.
I’m definitely going to try this! My 3yo has gotten super selective with foods, but loooves colors and sorting things by color, so this might interest him.
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